I've got my W163 at a MBZ dealer and they claim it will cost $1923.00 to replace the TCM clear all codes and put a new battery in this SUV. It all started when I went out of town for 3 weeks and left the unit in my garage, seems one of our children left a light on in the interior and the battery went dead. I trickle charged the battery for 3 days and the thing starts just fine except there is all kinds of lights flashing, and the trans is stuck in limp mode. I can't imagine a car that starts just fine needs a new battery. If the T/M fluid went up the harness and shorted out the TCM I can belive this as I've read on this fourm that it is a common problem with this ML....but should it cost nearly $2,000.00 to fix it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Keep in mind the dealers use the service dept as a giant profit center. They are always
going to charge the maximum possible for a repair.
For the dealer pricing that does not surprise me.

What is the breakdown in costs of labor hours and parts prices? This is not tough job
for an indy tech to do that has the correct equipment to work on the 722.6 transmission.
Also if the TCM really got soaked in most cases it is the harness where it plugs in.
Many members have cleaned it up successfully and the TCM returned to full functionality.
A dealer will not even offer that as a fix. They want the profit on sellig you an expensive
electronic part.
As far as the battery, Advance can do a complete load test and see what shape it is in.
A battery that was fully discharged and then exposed to very cold temps could be
having issues even if it starts the truck.

The brake light is flashing and it has a continous beep. The MBZ dealer has the unit and claims the wiring harness has leaked T/M fluid all the way to the TCM and shorted it out. Wants $1923.00 to fix it, this includes a $169.00 battery. I'm just asking if this seems a fair price and is it completly necessary. Do you know if the TCM can be bought after market and at what cost?

The brake light is flashing and it has a continous beep. The MBZ dealer has the unit and claims the wiring harness has leaked T/M fluid all the way to the TCM and shorted it out. Wants $1923.00 to fix it, this includes a $169.00 battery. I'm just asking if this seems a fair price and is it completly necessary. Do you know if the TCM can be bought after market and at what cost?